Now thats a great deal!!! NOT

1750 Euros is around $2700, this is what this Parisian is asking for this beat up, slow, unattractive two door car. Now how can a car that is constantly being hit from the front, rear, and sides be worth this much money. Now don't get me wrong $2700 for a car is not that much, but I have seen some nice Honda Civic's and Acura Integra's sell for this much at home and are much nicer. The only thing i can think of that would make it worth something would be its size, parking is nearly impossible so i guess I would say size does matter in this case.

Monster Energy Drink Gearing Up For Europe

For our project we have decided to market Monster Energy Drink in France. Just today there was an article in the local newspaper about the energy drink market and Red Bull's plan to dominate the French marketplace. The market for energy drinks is continuing to grow rapidly, but based on my observations I have only seen very few brands in the local stores including Red Bull. Monster Energy Drink recent dominace in the American market has made us optimistic of the potential success here in France and the rest of Europe. The brand pictured above "burn" is only one of the few brands being marketed in Paris.

I am very excited about the project, we have a lot of innovative marketing ideas that will hopefully convince our judges of the validity of our proposition. Extreem sports and obviously team sports like soccer are very popular in France and if Monster Energy Drink can allign with this market like they do in the United States, they should have tremendus success here.

"I don't need a spot to park"

Coming to the end of the second week in Paris I have came to the conclusion that the Parisians idea of finding a place to park is much different than us Americans. They will park literally everywhere, sometimes backing into cars just to barely fit in a spot that they have no business in. Almost every car has hundreds of dings and scratches on it and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. Just today on the way to school a car decided it would park in the middle of the road, at the time it wasn't really blocking anyone in but for sure would eventually. Just the other day I overheard a conversation with an english speaking parisian and how much he pays in parking fees. I wanted to tell him, have you seen how you all park? Those smart cars can literally park in a spot in any direction you want, today I saw one backed up over the curb with the front of the car facing the road. What are they thinking? I guess we can say we park better.

"Do You Wan't Fries With That"

McDonald's in Europe, why? They are everywhere, malls, side streets, airports, strip malls, basically everywhere they are in the United States. I would of liked to think that McDonald's would only be an American thing catering to the busy lifestyle of North Americans, but that is not the case. In fact, every McDonald's I have been to over here has been really nice, and offers a gourmet style menu. They are always very crowded with business people and of course travelers. Everyone recognizes the "arch", brand recognition is what keeps this company rolling even in countries that you wouldn't think would accept a greasy fast food restaurant originated in the United States.

Now This is Marketing

When I first got to Paris I did notice that advertising is certainly different, but not necessarily better or worse. One of the first things that caught my mind is the sidewalk cafe advertisements they put on outdoor tables for customers to see. The cafe where I noticed first was very close to the EBS school. Passing this cafe every day you begin to notice that the ads are different each day. What I found funny about this particular advertisement for Ford is the location of the coffee shop. With the cafe located on a busy street and customers being exposed to hundreds of brands and models of cars, what better way for Ford to reach them while they have cars on their mind. If this ad was in a train station it may not have as good of an effect because the customers state of mind is different. To me this is great advertising and I am excited to see more of it.

"Do they need that big of Guns"

One of the first things I noticed about Paris is the military police, or whatever you want to call them. They walk around with large automatic weapons similar to the police in Mexico, trying to install fear in visitors and local Perisians. Could you imagine if police in New York City walked around with big automatic weapons, I think the city would destroy its self. I guess this is just how they do it, but it does make you wonder.

Italian Food and French Fries

I didn't expect to see as much Italian dishes in France as what we have experienced. Pizza is everywhere, some good some bad but always available. Almost all restaurants I have been to have had Italian dishes and French fries. The Italian food is actually really good, very similar to food you would get in Italy as I visited "Italia" 2 years ago. The cheese actually has some taste, not just the stretchy cheese you get at "Domino's" back home.

A lot of people ask, "Do they have french fries in France" the answer is "Yes they do". They have them everywhere, nice restaurants and hole in the walls with every type of entree. The French EBS students said they everyone loves them. Its funny that they are called French Fries but are actually Belgian. I think that was an American mistake. We tend to think of French Fries as Burger sides but not here, they are with everything served. I guess i have been basically eating italian and belgian dishes for a week.